Literacy – Spanning the US :: Baraboo WI :: Volusia Co FL :: Wilmington NC

Baraboo Area

Literacy Council

Tutors help adults learn English

Baraboo News Republic: 6.12.2017 by Ben Bromley

Yinliu Krueger started learning English from cartoons and children’s books. Today, thanks to help from a volunteer tutor, Krueger is a high school graduate.

A native of China, Krueger got help from Baraboo Area Literacy Council tutor Erin Wilson in gaining the mastery of English she needed to earn a general educational development certificate. It took the mother of two and St. Clare Meadows Care Center employee several years to get her GED, but she would happily repeat the experience.

“I wanted to have it,” she said. “I wanted to have a goal for myself.”

Literacy Council tutors work with adults trying to build basic reading skills. Like Krueger, many are learning English as a second language. She worked with Wilson weekly to improve her language skills.

“English is not an easy language, I can tell you,” Krueger said.

She waited a year for an available tutor. Literacy Council board member and Baraboo Public Library Director Meg Allen said the waiting list is down to only a few names now, but more volunteer tutors are needed to meet demand.  READ MORE @

Food Brings Hope

For Pierson immigrants, learning English spells “opportunity”

News Journal:  6.10.2017 by Pat Rice

Ruben Renteria was running a little late one evening earlier this week. He had to finish his plumbing job before he could make it the Family Literacy Program at Mission San Jose Church, where he is a star pupil.

“I want to thank you guys,” Renteria told organizers during an open house to show off the success of the program. “I want to be prepared because I’ve got a big family. I want to be better for them, and for me, too.”

For the past two years, the Family Literacy Program has cracked a language barrier in northwest Volusia County, where many families are immigrants and their first language is Spanish. Since January, an estimated 60 adults and their children have taken part in the program. This summer, 25 adults and their children are enrolled.

The program is part of Food Brings Hope, which has received a $30,000 annual grant from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy for about half the program’s funding. Food Brings Hope founder and chairwoman Forough Hosseini said her organization roughly matches the Bush foundation grant to provide the rest of the funding for the Family Literacy Program. Daytona State College is also a partner, providing staff to coordinate the effort.

The program’s operation is simple. Three days a week (four when Pierson’s public schools are in session), both parents and children take part in learning sessions after parents have finished working — many of them for area fern farms and other agricultural interests.

“These people work really hard and want the best for their kids,” Hosseini said of the parents. “They really are working hard for the American Dream.”  READ MORE @

@cfliteracy

One-On-One Education Makes A Difference

Wilmington Biz: 6.15.2017 Sponsored Content by Yasmin Tomkinson, Ex Dir: Cape Fear Literacy Council

I want to be the first person in my family to get a diploma. I have a two-year-old daughter. I need to be able to support her and help her with school. She has to see that getting an education is worth something.

Adults come to Cape Fear Literacy Council for a variety of reasons. Many, like the student quoted above, desire to break a generations-long cycle of low literacy and improve the lives of their children. A few have never attended school and are starting with the alphabet. Others have diplomas and just need to brush up on math or writing in order to get into college or obtain professional certifications.  Many of our students are working toward their GEDs or diplomas.

Currently, students in our Adult Literacy program are between 18 and 86 years old, and each has his or her own learning goals.

The core of our Adult Literacy program is one-on-one tutoring. The individual approach offers flexibility in scheduling and ensures that adult learners receive a personalized strategy of instruction that is geared to their specific needs, goals and learning styles. We use research-based skill books tailored to the appropriate level for each learner.

But at Cape Fear Literacy Council (CFLC), our dedicated volunteer tutors go above and beyond skill books and curricula to help their students become more productive members of the community. They help students improve employment skills, learn to vote, get driver’s licenses and work on financial literacy.  READ MORE @